Esther is an occupational therapist practicing in a rural area. She approaches her critical access hospital about expanding to telehealth, which she believes could increase her productivity. One advantage to providing telehealth in her community is:

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Access to clients in rural settings may include extensive amounts of travel for the practitioner. The clients may also need to travel to access services in a community center or other site. Telehealth can reduce the cost and time of travel for the clients and practitioner. The clients may get back to their meaningful daily activities if they do not need to spend excessive time traveling. The practitioners may be able to provide services to more clients during the time they would normally be traveling between locations. The cost of the equipment to utilize telehealth does not significantly increase the overall costs of the services. Depending on the type of technology and the distance needed to travel, the cost can be offset or reduced by using telehealth (Kairy et al., 2009; Pramuka & van Roosmalen, 2009).

Esther Is an Occupational Therapist Practicing in a Rural Area